


I Think I Just Felt an Emotion - Writing Prompt

by Just_Another_Introvert



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Feel free to say so, I know Ink and Error wouldn't act this way ever, If you are one of the owners and don't want your AU in here, M/M, OOC characters, There are many AU's mentioned, yeah - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-19
Updated: 2018-01-19
Packaged: 2019-03-06 15:24:28
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,973
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13414119
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Just_Another_Introvert/pseuds/Just_Another_Introvert
Summary: Just a thing I did to pass time during lunch at school...It was actually pretty fun to write...Ink has always been emotionless.Not once has he ever felt any sort of true emotion, whether it be good or bad, anxiety, depression, liveliness, joy. It was one of those things that just made Ink….Ink.





	I Think I Just Felt an Emotion - Writing Prompt

**Author's Note:**

> There may be a lot of mistakes I didn't catch onto while editing because...ya'know. Still a newbie at writing.
> 
> So feel free to point them out to me!! :3
> 
> Also, I tried to make all the characters (Except Ink and Error) as close to how their creators had made/designed them to be.

**Writing Prompt- I think I just felt an emotion**

Ink has always been emotionless.

Not once has he ever felt any sort of true emotion, whether it be good or bad, anxiety, depression, liveliness, joy. It was one of those things that just made Ink….Ink.

Of course that doesn't mean Ink never wondered about what true emotions felt like. Occasionally he even wonders if true emotions feel exactly like his artificial emotions. His artificial emotions are emotions extracted from some of the various AU’s that creator’s made. Not to say they aren't real emotions, but it wasn't Ink’s own. He couldn’t truly sympathize with the other Sans’ that have lost their Papyrus’ and couldn't seem to understand what exactly they felt. Of course his artificial feelings put tears in his sockets and made his non-existent soul tingle with the sudden invasion of another's feelings, but he never understood why. Why exactly was it that he couldn't connect?

Ink remembered that in the very beginning, he felt immense fear, enough to wrack his soul and come close to destroying himself. He felt something.

The next moment his soul had disappeared, and when his body remembered that it should probably feel panicked, it never did. That surge of emotion never came.

That was what he soon got accustomed to, shortly before the first few AU's started popping up from seemingly thin air. He had learned to “borrow” emotions from the creators, holding those emotions within little vials, and found some interesting quirks in using them, the main being that his pupils changed color and shape every time he blinked.

Ink learned how to live on his own like that.

And now. Now was just as it had always been. The only difference being that a black skeleton with blue strings was trying to attack him.

“What's up with you bud? I've never seen you Before! You seem pretty interesting!” Ink jumped out of the way of one of the blue strings, using his giant paintbrush as leverage to hop even higher.

“Shut up!!!,” the black skeleton screeched in response, error codes starting to block the black skeleton’s vision. “Fucking bastard!!!!”

“I don't think I've done anything too bad so far though. I haven't even looked at any of the timelines in a while!” Ink grinned at the other as if it was something to be proud of.

“How could you do This! WHAT DID YOU DO TO THE ORIGINAL?!!” More of the blue strings shot out of his sockets and phalanges in a desperate attempt to capture Ink.

Ink jumped out of the way quickly, swinging his brush forward to slam the strings out of his way. His pinpricks shaped into question marks- one blue, one yellow.

“Look buddy, I didn't do anything to the original. I merely lent a helping hand to others so that they can continue their creativity. If I had done anything to the original then this whole place would have collapsed. Even I wouldn't exist then.” Ink put his hands on his hip bones. He balanced himself on his brush and brushed non-existent dirt off of his clothes.

“Besides, with those strings you won't be able to catch me the way you want to anyways.” Ink grinned in a cheeky way, enraging the black boned skeleton who shot his strings out rapidly.

Instead of grabbing on, they bounced off of Ink with no effect. Again and again the skeleton tried to no avail. Then it dawned on him why, a horrified look painting his face.

“You goddamn freak. You don't even have a fucking soul!!”

“Yup!” Ink smiled bright and wide, hooking his brush to something on the back of his shirt and starting to wander off.

“STOP!!” Ink stopped as asked, looking back with an almost curious gaze.

“If you move even one step, I'll destroy all of these anomalies. All of them.”

Ink looked up at the almost beautiful scene of blue strings on bright glowing papers. Then his artificial emotions kicked in full speed.

“You wouldn't dare.”

It was enough for the skeleton to look up, giving Ink a single psychotic smirk.

“You moved.”

Ink ran towards the skeleton in black, brush in hand to defend himself. Then bright papers fluttered around Ink like small glowing butterflies, morphing into black codes and driving into Ink’s bones like daggers.

“What's your name?,” Ink asked after a minute while the other skeleton tried to process what he's just seen.

“Why'd the code enter you?”

“That wasn't an answer.”

Ink looked down where a part of his ulna could be seen, the tattoo-like shape growing deeper and darker. The black skeleton merely growled, clenching his hand tightly, grasping a single piece of the ripped paper before walking backwards slowly, cautiously, throwing the paper towards Ink as he did.

“I’ll be back to clean up the rest of these pieces of shits.”

“Give me your name.”

“Error. The one who’ll be known as the original’s savior.”

Error stepped back into a glitched version of what seemed to be a portal.

And in a split second Ink was on top of him, his previously colorful eyes becoming a bone chilling white with red tainting- small, circular. Almost demonic. He raised his brush, whipping it down onto Error, breaking his left ulna with a clean snap.

“And I’ll be known as the savior of all.”

Error raised his right arm, using his own strings to pull him back into the portal before closing it abruptly, leaving Ink in silence once again.

Ink stroked the bare part of his ulna and radius where the mark had grown even deeper, wincing once as soon as he touched it.

“At this rate, I might not be able to help like this much longer.”

  
Error was pissed as all hell.

“That corrupted piece of shit!”

No one gave an answer. Of course no one wouldn’t- it was the void after all.

Error touched his broken arm gingerly, giving a pained screech into the emptiness. Making a small portal, he scratched at any type of cloth or box that would have something-anything to help him. He hit jackpot as he pulled a med-kit in from one of the thousands of Alternate Universes, taking out an expensive (in the AU) bandage that was infused with healing magic.

With extreme care, Error wrapped his own string around the bone that was sticking out, readying the bandage in his other hand.

With that, he pulled the strings sharply, snapping bone into place and wrapped his arm as best as he could in his groggy state.

“Fuck fuck fuCK!! I'M GONNA KILL HIM!!”

The blue strings dissipated into nothing but Errors anger had gone nowhere. He had to kill that monster before he made anymore of those anomalies. Before he tainted the original anymore than he already had.

 

The first step in fighting an enemy was knowing him.

Error knew that. But it wasn't easy. He'd made many portals, small ones to try and watch that demonic bastard, but every time he had, the other would tense in realization.

The bastard was sensitive to any magic around him that wasn't his own. Interesting if it weren't so fucking annoying. Only being able to see him for a few seconds didn't help his situation. He could barely figure anything out.

Sometimes the other would have a couple other skeletons around him. That was the only reason Error found out the others name. Ink.

Ink barely did anything if he wasn't with his buddies. Instead he just stared out into the endless number of AU’s with the stupid grin that almost every Sans was known for.

When he did hang out with some of the Sans’, it was usually the bright yellow one with the name Dream, and another by the name of Blue. Why weren't they in their AU? Maybe the nature of their AU was just like that right now. Error didn't care. Both were almost eerily cheerful, each from different AU’s that were supposedly well known among the others. It was weird to know that this Ink monster was friends with anyone. For fucks sake, he didn't even really have a soul. How was he even supposed to laugh along with them?

Ink was shrouded in mystery, something Error wasn't comfortable with. He was used to knowing his enemies well enough after the first few hours or day. But Ink, Error had to keep watch of him since the day he met him and declared him his enemy. Because even though he had buddies, Ink didn't seem to care about them, only interested in the similar goal of saving all the AU's. Even though Ink was the “creator” of the universe's, he didn't give a shit about what happened within the AU itself. Even though he had no soul, he still looked like he had feelings.

It was strange.

The only thing that Error did know, was that when an AU was destroyed, the black code that came from the shriveled or ripped paper would drive into Ink. And he knew that it was painful.

It was obvious from how Ink would wince every time it happened.

And even though that was all Error had, he would use it to his advantage.

 

“Hey!! Ink bastard!!!”

“Hey again! I was wondering when you would stop stalking me.” Ink grinned almost cheerfully.

“SHUT UP!!!” Error dashed forward, grit teeth and opened hands, strings shooting out, but aiming right past Ink and grabbed a handful of AU's. Ink turned around to stare at the blue strings that stemmed like branches from one AU to the next.

“You know, I never mentioned it, but your strings really are pretty.” Ink touched one of the strings gently, the stupid fucking grin still on his face. “But I guess it would mean just about nothing coming from me. I'm sure you've already figured it out- that I'm emotionless.”

“What I really want to fucking know is why you act like you do.” Error glared at Ink, who merely grinned back.

“I would tell you...in exchange for something about yourself!” Error’s glare softened involuntarily in surprise. What kind of an idiot was this guy?

“Fucking- my favorite color is Blue?” Errors grip on the Au's softened subconsciously.

“Hmm….Not enough.  I'm giving you one of my weaknesses here! The least you could do is tell me something more personal.” Error stared at Ink incredulously. But then again, what else could you expect from an emotionless, soulless bastard like him.

“My world no longer exists. It was destroyed.”

“.... Okay! My emotions are all artificial. They come from the emotions of the creators. I keep them in little glass things like these!” Ink took out one of the glass vials from the sash he wore. The one he picked up was anger. It wasn't that Ink had said anything of the like to him. Error could just feel it. The amount of anger in the small vial was unimaginable. And to come from a creator?

“I'll be sure to use it against you. And I'll be sure to destroy all of these fakes.” Error tugged only once, and again, Ink tried to reach out and stop it, and again, it wasn't enough to stop him. The ripped papers fluttered onto the ground, turning into code and entered Ink, just like the beginning. But this time, Ink dropped to the ground gripping his bones tightly. The tattoo like marks grew, chipping away at the unneeded bone, turning to dust and ink as it hit the floor.

To Error, it was almost beautiful.

Almost.

“So I was right. These horrific things are actually connected to you. Or your body at least.” Error snorted in disgust. “I'll be watching you.”

With that he teleported back to the void, leaving Ink in pain.

And in the void, Error stayed. He watched for a while. No one knows how long, time didn't exist in the void after all. But he watched and waited as Ink tried to progress with life. He watched as Ink struggled to keep himself in shape, to catch up with what has been going on. But his body seemed to be refusing, always shaking with extreme and horrendous pain.

Once Error had watched long enough, he had changed. His voice was glitched, error codes appearing around him and occasionally glitching his body too. Sometimes when his emotions got the best of him, errors would fill his eyes and he had to “Reboot” to see again. He was now a glitch in the system.

But he was a glitch with a purpose.

-I am not going to do the glitching effect because that's a lot of work. I really don't know how everyone else does it-

“Been a while Ink. Glad to see you haven't changed since I last saw you. Still an anomaly and a piece of shit.”

“Hey Error.” Ink trembled slightly with suppressed pain. “Really has been a while for me. But I could feel you watching me everywhere I went.” Ink tried for a grin, making him look even more broken.

“I'm thinking, since your so weak right now, that I should just try and destroy the remaining fakes.” Ink’s eye sockets widened.

“Don't. Please don’t. I'll do anything.” Ink asking for something? Now this was a first.

“And what're you willing to offer?” Error was now intrigued. He might be able to use Ink. It was a nice thought. He'll play along for now.

“Knowledge, more power. Anything!,” Ink rambled desperately. “I'll change your mind about destroying these AU's. I promise. I'll help you. Let me help you.”

Error thought for a moment. If he had the creator of the multiverse at his side, then the other monsters won't suspect a thing from him, a “friend” of the creator. Then when he comes to “visit” it'll be just that. A visit.  Error grinned maniacally at his new plan.

“A month. I'll give you one month to try and convince me. If you can’t..well. You know what happens.” He picked up a piece of one of the papers that hadn't yet turned into code and tossed it towards Ink, watching it melt into code before striking itself into Ink.

“So show me what's so great about these filthy anomalies.” Ink stood up as quickly as he can and stumbled forward slightly.

“I'll show you one of most beautiful AU's I've ever known! I'm glad you gave this a chance.” Ink grinned one of his “artificial” grins before jumping, watching as Error pulled himself up with his own strings. Ink really was a fucking idiot. To trust someone who just destroyed his precious Au’s just minutes ago. He entered the Au, and instead of the underground like Error expected, they were in  space. Stars shone brightly,  a swirl of blue green and black making the stars seem even brighter.  

“You think something like this would be enough to make me stop wanting to destroy the AU's?,”Error asked sharply.  But he was impressed. He hadn't even known that an AU like this existed. Usually he just killed the monsters and destroyed the world without a second thought. With his mind in the gutter when doing so, he missed things like this.

“Maybe not. But it's a good start, don't you think?”

“Whatever.”

Error agreed.

They stayed there for a few hours, silence hanging between them. They stared at the endless amount of stars floating around them with fascination. Every Sans loved the stars after all, no matter what kind of Sans he might be.

“If this is all we’re gonna be doing, I’m gonna leave,” Error huffed after a while, getting up as if to prove a point. Ink followed him, making his own Ink portal.

“There are other universes that you might find are..entertaining.” Error opened his mouth. “No, there's no killing involved but it's still entertaining.” Error grumbled at that watching as Ink jumped into the portal..or rather a buckets worth of black ink. Error rolled his eyes.

How very quirky. He jumped in after Ink anyways, finding himself landing on a sofa with a large TV placed in front of him.

“Welcome to…. My room?”

Ink turned on the huge TV, flipping to a certain channel.

“There's one AU that's extremely dramatic and fancy. Undernovela!!” Error remained still faced, not knowing what to expect, but when they finally got to the channel, he immediately perked up. It really did seem like a drama or movie. And that was what they did for the next 3 hours.

“How long has it been now?,” Ink asked, turning towards Error who was still entranced by the Undernovela AU. “Hello? Error?”

“I dunno. In AU terms, probably about a day.” Error stopped, Error signs filling his vision.

What the fuck was he even doing? He was supposed to be using Ink, not being led around by him. He was supposed to be trying to find all of Ink’s weaknesses and using them by torturing him. He was supposed to be visiting a shit ton of AU's he would dispose of later.

He rebooted after a moment, Ink staring at him.

“What the heck was that?” Ink laughed, tears of laughter pouring from his eyes. Then he shot up, wide eyed, still facing the TV.

“Oh no.”

“What is it? What happened? Who died??” Error got up, trying to look over Ink’s shoulder at Undernovela, because God forbid if he missed something because of this asshole, he was going to destroy-

“I think I just felt an emotion.”

“You have got to be fucking kidding me.”

Ink turned towards Error wide eyed, mouth agape. Error stared at him for a moment before it dawned on him. Error got up and started backing away from Ink cautiously, not knowing what might happen now. And before Error could teleport away, Ink disappeared into his own portal of Ink.

“Fuck….I may as well follow him. Need to know how to use those new emotions,” Error muttered to himself, taking a final glance at the TV before disappearing.

Ink changed after that incident, that much was obvious. He became more quiet, isolated himself from his buddies. He protected the universes even more than he had before, more aggressively. Ink was scared, or at least that was what Error thought. From What? He had no idea. Not yet.

 

Error approached Ink just a week after after Inks drastic change.

“Hey. Thought you wanted to make me change my mind?”

Ink didn't say a word, instead observing Error closely, fear clear in his previously colorful and emotionless eyes.

“If you came to destroy another AU, I will kill you.” Error was about to laugh, until he saw Ink get into a fighting position. If Error were to kill Ink, it would just make it harder to destroy the other universes, considering how these fake creators were now overpowering all their characters. He needed to keep the bastard alive or else he wouldn't be able to…

“I'm being serious. You made a promise. I know Sans’ always stick to their promises.”

Ink relaxed slightly.

“If I could make you stop….then maybe I could worry a little less.” Ink seemed to be talking to himself, but he still looked at Error dead in the eye.

“Made up your mind yet?”

Ink tried for a grin, but it seemed his pain hadn’t gone away since the change. That was good.

“Sure. I wrote down a few places that I wanted to show you.” Ink picked up the end of his scarf, reading off of it. “First stop, FlowerFell.” With slightly less enthusiasm, Ink jumped up to one of the floating papers and touched it, Error following close behind. This was definitely going to be on his “to destroy” list.

“SO, what’s this AU about?” Error looked around, not finding anything interesting about this AU. It just looked like another timeline of UnderFell, one of the places that Error constantly stole from.

“Well, it’s a lot like UnderFell you see? But in this one, the Sans is actually Frisk’s protector. He helps Frisk face all of her challenges.” At that Error’s mood deteriorated.

“Why the fuck would a Sans like that protect a kid?”

“She isn’t a child in this AU. But, every time she resets, a buttercup grows somewhere on her body. We have to follow them for you to understand their story though.” And that was what they did. They followed them for a few days worth of time, watching as the world reset over and over. Watching as Sans continuously deceived Frisk until Sans gave into her strange kindness. Watched as Frisk’s body became weaker and weaker, unable to even stand on her own as it became overcome with flowers.

And watched as Frisk took her last breath in front of the barrier.

Error was intrigued by the AU. It was strange. He could feel himself relating to the story, yet not understanding anything at the same time. When the barrier broke and the Sans of Flowerfell buried Frisk, Error and Ink were both silent.

When Error looked over at Ink, he saw tears trickle down his face. But the tears weren’t the most shocking, rather the face that Ink was making as he watched the story progress and end.

Error couldn’t explain the expression, no matter how hard he tried to find the most suitable words.

All Error could do was watch.

Then, the world started to deteriorate. Everything started glitching, shaking both skeletons out of their daze.

“We have to get out of here...come on!” Ink made an Ink portal, Error following close behind desperately. When they finally got back to the multiverse, they were floating in front of a crumbling paper, folding in on itself over and over until the only thing left was a single code that drove into Ink’s body.

“Okay, what the fucking fuck just happened?!,” Error shouted, pointing at where the paper used to hang. Ink looked at Error with solemn heartbroken eyes, and for a second, Error was confused and curious.

“The creator destroyed their own work.” Ink gripped his shirt above his ribcage, slowly trailing down to his arm where the marks seemed to have grown even larger since the last time Error had seen them. Right, he still didn’t know about what the marks were doing to Ink. He should find out soon- was what Error probably should have been thinking. But instead, Error looked straight into Ink’s eyes, silently demanding an explanation.

“Sometimes the creator destroys their own works. It could be from a multitude of different reasons. Whether it’s from theft, hate from other creators, or their own personal problems. And when that happens, it returns back to the one who created the worlds for the creators. Me.”

“And what about when another person- like me, destroys the story?”

“When that happens, the story’s timeline, to the other creators, stop. It’s extremely difficult to re-enter the world, but it’s still possible, as long as I have the code in me.”

“Huh.”

This was the first time that Error had ever heard of this. He thought he had completely destroyed the world for good when he shredded those papers into tiny pieces. But if Ink created the worlds for the creators, and he had the code, that meant…

“Does that mean you can recreate the story again?”

“Yes and no.”

“And what the fuck does that mean?”

“It usually depends on whether the creator wants to continue their own story,” Ink explained with a pained smile. “If they do, I just help them. If they don’t….then that’s it. And more often than not, the creators don’t want to. They feel they’ve worked hard enough and they don’t want to put in anymore useless effort. And sometimes, I can recreate the story for a short while, like now. FlowerFell has been gone for a long time after all.”

Error smirked slightly at that. Because if the creators can destroy their own works, then that just means less work for him.

“18 more days to make me change my mind about these filthy glitches.”

“Yeah. 18 more days.” Ink smiled lightly, but it had become clearer. The pain had grown stronger after that AU had been re-destroyed, and it was making Ink tremble even more. What Error had just learned might prove to be useful, so he started making a checklist in his mind. Everything he could use against Ink.

“Well, where to next?”

“Just follow me!” Ink led them to the next AU, by the name of EchoTale, another strange AU, in Error’s opinion at least. To see a Gaster and Sans fused into one, and a strange looking Frisk with a broken world? How much stranger can it get?

“EchoTale is one of the most beautiful AU’s I know. But I guess I say that about most Au’s,” Ink said, sitting next to Error on what seemed to be a mini cliff of some sort. “It’s curious how the author had used the Original’s idea and turned it into something like this.”

Error looked towards Ink, who was currently fascinated with the sheer amount of Echo flowers in the Underground.

“You know, they’re the only two beings who exist in the whole world right now? They have to go through a lot of problems in order to reach their goal-which is to reset the timeline so it goes back to normal,” Ink explained suddenly, catching Error off guard for a split second. “I think, because there was so much “feeling” involved, it intrigued me a lot.”

Error merely nodded, acknowledging that he heard the other.

“So how come we’re not approaching any of them directly?,” Error asked, watching older Frisk and the Gaster-Sans fusion walk towards the Core.

“Well, if we did, it could cause a lot of problems for both you and me. You could possibly be in danger, and me….well. A lot of things could happen.” Ink got up and brushed off his pants, shaking slightly as he did. “We still have a lot of AU’s to visit you know?”

“Yeah.”

Ink made an Ink portal with a little bit of difficulty, entering it with Error trailing behind him like before. He jumped towards another paper and touched it, Error doing the same.

“This AU is called DreamTale. It’s continued and discontinued, then re-continued again, so many times. It’s painful.” Error looked at Ink and realized it was actual physical pain Ink was talking about. Just because Ink had a little bit of emotion, it didn’t mean that Ink would just suddenly grow accustomed to them after all. Why else would Ink have agreed to continuing to change Error in about 5 minutes worth of thinking?

“So what’s it about.”

“Twin brothers, both similar bodies like the original Sans, but personalities different. I re-winded the AU timeline so you could see how it was like before it became empty. So we can’t interact with anything and it’s okay to roam the streets.” Ink started walking on a long, somewhat distinguished path, making sure that Error was following him.

“So why the hell is it empty now?”

“The twins became able to switch from AU to AU through their own separate means. They’re both linked to all the AU’s, representing good and evil. Dream and Nightmare.” Ink approached a tree where two skeletons sat side by side under a huge apple tree, half covered in pitch black apples and the other with bright gold ones. Error recognized Dream, one of the few Sans’ that hung out with Ink before his change.

“Their story is a violent one. Their story hasn’t yet been finished by the creator, but it’s about destruction and pain.” Error’s mood started to lighten at what he was hearing. Destruction and pain was right up his alley.

They sat and watched from a distance, watching as Dream tried protect his brother, and watching as he failed. Then watched as Nightmare became a horrific monster of black goo, watched as monsters were torn into half and pieces, not fading to dust immediately. It was a bit much, even for someone like Error.

Ink inched towards Error, and suddenly gripped his hand, making Error flinch violently and stumble back.

“Oh crap, are you okay?,” Ink asked with an apologetic smile.

“Don’t fucking touch me!!,” Error screeched, Error’s filling his eyes as he blindly tried to use his strings to wrap him up physically since he held no soul. When his vision faded back, he found himself face to face with a pained Ink who was tied up tightly.

“I’m s-sorry..Error. Please let me g-go.” Error good a wide step back before letting the other go, glaring at Ink with a sneer. “I’m sorry Error,” Ink wheezed out painfully, gripping onto his shirt. “...another feeling…. Crap. Guilt. That means…..” Ink’s eyes widened before he jumped into and Ink portal, leaving Error behind, still frozen in his defensive position.

“Fucking touched me. The fucking emotionless glitch touched me!”

Error rubbed where the bastard had touched him angrily, while screeching and contemplating on whether or not he should continue to follow. He still needed a way to take down all the glitches and anomalies and fakes. He needed to learn about them, and the best way was through Ink. But was this even worth it anymore? He fucking touched him!!

After 20 minutes of continuous rubbing and indecisiveness, he made his own portal, walking into the multiverse to find the inky bastard. Because Error still needed a sure-proof plan to destroy them, and he couldn’t do it without more knowledge on these anomalies. He couldn’t stalk some of them after all, Sans’ with their keen senses and all.

He found Ink sitting on the ground while stroking his tattoo-like marks which had grown even more. But now, it was visible on his neck and seemed to be crawling up his skull slightly. Error didn’t realise how much the mark had grown while they were hopping AU’s in a desperate attempt to make Error change his mind about the AU’s.

“Hey!,” Error called out, surprising Ink to the point he...puked Ink? “JESuS FucK!” Error hopped back slightly to avoid the Ink.

“Oh gosh! Sorry. I’ve been trying to make sure I didn’t do that,” Ink laughed with barely noticeable wince, wiping his mouth. Error made a slightly disgusted face at the puddle of Ink on the floor, then looked up at Ink.

“It happens when I get surprised or overly excited sometimes!” Ink grinned, before turning around to face another AU. “Well, I’m going to keep on trying to make you stop, if that’s still okay with you.” Error rolled his pinpricks.

“Yeah, whatever.”

All Error was thankful for, was that Ink didn’t bring up the mini panic attack that had happened because of a single touch.

“The AU we’re about to enter is called MommaCQ. It’s a little bit more different from the other AU’s.”

“And what the fuck is that supposed to mean?,” Error demanded. Because when someone tells you something like that, it was usually a bad thing. Something he was almost proud to say he learned from UnderNovela. The only problem being that it would also be the equivalent of saying he learned something from a filthy glitch.

“Well….you’ll see.”

That was all Error got before Ink entered the AU, trembling slightly as he lifted his arm to touch the floating paper. When they got through, they were immediately put in a house, a couple feet behind tiny little skeletons.

Tiny skeletons who just happened to look like Error, Ink and a flashy 90’s style skeleton. The 90’s skeleton eerily familiar to Error from some unknown reason.

“Okay, what the fuck.” That was all Error could say as he stared at the tiny things.

“This is MommaCQ. It’s based off of Sans’ and their creators. Also, kind of a set up for another story the creator is planning. CQ is based off of your creator. In this AU, you and I are great friends while your brothers with Fresh, the 90’s looking skeleton and another skeleton by the name of Geno.” Ink grinned as a pink haired lady walked into the room and crouched down to the small skeleton’s heights.

“Error, why don’t you go play with Ink-y for a bit? Mommy and Fresh have to have a little talk.” The small Error nodded and took small Ink’s hand gently. Error, the big one, was freaking out just a small bit in the corner, kind of hyperventilating. It was strange to see his small self holding hands with a smaller version of his enemy, crazy-stupid. Idiotic. Yet it was happening right in front of them. Ink smiled at Error’s reaction before tauntingly holding his hand out to Error.

“You want to go play Error?” Ink laughed when Error’s face became overloaded with errors. Apparently it looked hilarious. “Come on, let’s go follow them!,” Ink urged after Error’s errors cleared up. Error reluctantly agreed.

“Why can’t they see us?,” Error asked after a bit, realizing they were running in the house with no attention directed at them.

“Because this is not a real part of the story, rather a short scenario that I built based on what’s happened within the real story.” Ink led them upstairs to the bedrooms where small Ink and Error were playing with paper, Ink drawing on his drawing pad while Error was destroying Ink’s unneeded papers.

“They’re pretty similar to us right now, don’t you think?” Error could only agree, the only difference being their current relationship. But Error couldn’t deny that he may have acted like this, were it the past if he were small and young.

Ink looked and acted exactly the same, minus the sash, vials and pain. But this small Ink’s emotionlessness was also the same. Error could tell now, which emotions were fake and which were real. Something Error somehow learned over the week of Ink’s sudden behaviour change. And, you know, hanging around the bastard for a couple of weeks.

“Oh my-” Ink puked black ink, surprising Error to all hell, errors filling his vision again.

“And what the fuck made you puke this time?!”

“Mini you is blushing!!”

“....fucking squid.” Though the “squid” part came out of the blue for Error, it rolled off his non-existent tongue nicely. He couldn’t help but smirk at the stupid sounding nickname he’d made. Fit the bastard, that was for sure.

When the errors had cleared up again, Error turned towards Ink who didn’t seem to realize that Error was back up and running. Instead, Ink seemed to be zoning out, absently touching his neck bone as he stared.

“What the hell are you staring at?,” Error grunted after staring a bit. Ink perked up, an automatic smile lifting his face and lowered his hand quickly.

“Just mini you being extremely freaking cute! Who knew that this little adorable ball was based off someone who destroys universes for a living?” Error growled, glaring at Ink while the other merely brushed it off, instead making another portal.

“Come on! We still have a bunch of other universes to visit you know!,” Error almost forgot that Ink was in pain, until he saw the other tremble slightly before jumping in. Right. Error still had a mission to do. He still needed to figure out in what way the AU’s were connected to the inky bastard. He still needed a way to destroy all the universes.

Error looked back to find that the world was now completely frozen and quickly jumped in after Ink.

They landed in the multiverse, just as one of the hanging papers had finished folding in on itself, leaving codes behind that soon attached themselves to Ink’s body like before. Ink grimaced, and for the first time, Error saw the tattoo like thing grow before his eyes, traveling slowly up Ink’s skull.

“Why’s your tattoo growing everytime one of those anomalies get destroyed?,” Error finally asked, fed up with trying to discreetly figure it out. He watched as the growing slowed to a stop, watched as small pieces of bone chipped away leaving behind small pieces of dust.

“I don’t want to talk about it. It’s none of your business,” Ink growled in response before snapping his jaw shut quickly.

That was definitely unexpected to Error, how Ink’s anger sounded genuine. Then the facts hit him like a brick. Error had completely forgot about Ink’s developing emotions as well, having been hanging around him during a majority of his changing. But now that it was so blatantly thrust in Error’s face again, he almost couldn’t believe it.

What _was_ obvious that the previously cheerful, almost carefree vibe was gone, vanished like a rabbit in a hat. But Error continued to follow Ink as the other approached yet another paper.

They entered the AU, Ink simply staring down at the ground while Error took in all of his surroundings.

Instead of the usual one world layout that the other AU’s had, this one was separated into small sections, all focusing on different parts.

“This is DanceTale. It doesn’t have a general ‘creator’ but rather hundreds of different creators keeping the AU alive. So It’s broken into so many different Alternate Timelines, it would probably be one of the hardest to destroy, along with UnderSwap, UnderFell, and more of the like.” Error was amazed. He was fascinated. It was so….weird.

“Hey Error, tell me something real interesting,” Ink spoke suddenly, sitting down on one of the thousands of buildings displayed. “I’ll tell you something interesting too.” Error glanced at the other skeleton who had a decisive look on his face, and turned back around to look at one of the timelines where Frisk was dancing with Sans.

“All the worlds I destroyed in front of you were already destroyed on the inside. All the monsters were already dead when I destroyed their worlds. That’s the only way I _could_ destroy a world.” Error looked down at his black slippers, wondering if he was really becoming a fucking idiot by telling the literal creator of AU’s his most weakest point. He came close to bashing his head against a rock when Ink spoke up.

“The tattoo’s….they’re killing me.” Even though it was probably meant to come as a sudden revelation, Error felt that somewhere along the way, he knew, so it didn’t come as much of a surprise. But….”Every time an AU dies, I get a piece of my soul back. A really small piece. But when that happens, the code is always there too. Every time I get a part of me back, I'm being killed all the same.”

Now that. That was the last piece of the puzzle that Error had been looking for the whole time. It made sense now, Ink being so protective of the AU’s. If the creator was gone, there would be no such a thing as an AU anymore, everything would be broken. So ultimately….

“So if I killed you, then AU’s wouldn’t exist anymore?”- was what Error was about to say, but when he looked at the other, he realized that Ink already knew the dangers of telling him something like this.

“The AU’s could keep on living on their own if the tattoo’s grow over my body and destroy it. The pieces of my soul would go to move onto whatever AU is being created next. They’ll keep transferring to different AU’s as they destroy themselves or be created. They’ll become more powerful. But if I die at the hands of another, then my soul will immediately turn to dust, like every AU would.” Ink paused for a moment, looking down. “I have about 16 to 17 more days until the tattoo’s cover me. And we have 15 days left in which I could still try to change and convince you.”

Error got up with a huff. He thought it through carefully. Ink was weak, too weak to fight or do anything much more useful. 15 days wouldn’t matter, long as he was able to destroy the filthy things.

“15 more days squid. Then you’ll either die by my hands or kill yourself.” Ink grinned up at him, a genuine smile this time, rather than those obnoxious fake ones. It was a strange look on the normally fake emotionless face.

“Thank you Error.”

“Shut up you inky glitch.”

  
  
Error wasn’t completely heartless.

If he was, then he would have already destroyed Outertale and Undernovela. But he didn’t. He enjoyed quiet and entertaining AU’s such as those. And if emotions such as joy existed within someone who was thought to be heartless like Error, it wasn’t too far a stretch to believe that he may have other heartwarming feelings somewhere in him.

And now….now it was clearly obvious-even to an idiot- that Error was enjoying himself. He was enjoying Ink’s company, which sounded fucking crazy, but it was true. Even if his smiles looked maniacal and he looked somewhat out of it, it was obvious to a blind man. His feelings were growing and growing, even if it wasn’t obvious to the skeleton himself.

But time was ticking.

One day had passed quickly, hopping from AU to AU, occasionally stealing a thing or two from one of the many timelines of UnderFell with cheery smiles and quick apologies scribbled on ripped scraps of paper. Ink making portals to some more amazing AU’s that Error had never knew existed. ReaperTale. MafiaTale. UnderTail. UnderLust. The last two, Error didn’t really appreciate the beauty of though. It was utterly disturbing in Error’s opinion, but Ink seemed to enjoy himself a little bit.

The second day they visited some of the crossover AU’s which were interesting, seeing 2 different AU’s who were the complete opposite of each other get along. Sometimes a bit too well. (There were definitely some things that Error wished he could unsee) And they built a pillow for inside of Ink’s ‘room’ using an Underswap technique. That was the first time Error saw Ink’s creative side of his powers in work. It was colorful...and dare he say?- beautiful. He bashed his head into the pillow a lot after thinking that creativity of all things could be beautiful.

The third day, they found themselves looking through some ‘fanfiction’ AU’s. Those were also somewhat interesting. The two found themselves almost side by side as they used their powers to open up portals to these fanfiction AU’s. It was difficult, but it worked. And like that, they stayed, looking around and adventuring these strange places. Many of them took place on the surface, and that was one thing Error enjoyed a lot. Especially during the night.

The fourth day, Error had started to try and get rid of his fear (because apparently it would be more convenient during fights if he didn’t freak out ever time something touched him) and started with poking and prodding at Ink here and there. They visited one AU, GlitchTale, before working on getting rid of Error’s fear. Though they weren’t able to visit for long, it was a strange but fascinating AU. Ink had been on the balls of his feet every time a fight or something of the like happened. Admittedly, it did have good fight scenes that Error was somewhat interested in too. Just a little.

The fifth day, they had progressed with Error’s haphephobia, as they had later found out it was called in the library in StoryShift. And StoryShift, in Error’s opinion, was a bit strange. All the characters were shifted around, so the title was fitting. The only thing Error -personally- found interesting was the different powers they had now possessed as their positions got swapped. Ink seemed to absolutely love this creative idea though, so Error just shrugged it off as ‘eh’ and continued on with his so-called training.

On the sixth day, Error’s haphephobia problem had gotten a lot better. A firm grasp of the hand was now okay, but, Ink later found out, surprise hugs were not. It had put Error in a sour mood, until Ink teleported them to his ‘room’ and turned on UnderNovela. Suffice to say, Error was completely hooked for the entire show. Error never saw the small smile Ink made as he leaned against his shoulder softly, taking a short nap only to regain some energy.

On the seventh day, it had become easier for Error to touch Ink, considering they had basically been leaning against each other the day before. They had visited QuantumTale where most the the Undertale characters were replaced with a squad of kids and an extremely tired looking Gaster. It was interesting to see the Sans manipulate time. They soon found out that QuantumTale was connected to a lot of other AU’s and AT’s (Alternate Timelines) and decided it was best not to hang around too long. But one thing was for sure, on Ink’s part at least. The kids were freaking adorable. The face Ink made was just further proof. Error grinned properly for the first time in a long time that day.

On the eighth day, Ink’s deteriorating health had made itself known. He breathing had become shallow and his tattoo had grown a little larger. But Ink, the stubborn bastard, still pulled them through to another AU by the name of CurseTale/ComptonFell. That had been one heck of a ride for them. Gun shots gave both of them mini heart-attacks, scaring the two shitless, before they found out about the complicated family. Ink seemed to love children it seemed, because he was all over the young gangster baby Dreby. Error laughed at Ink’s strangeness, but liked the idea of violence and bloodshed everywhere. But Mobs and Gangs? No thanks.

On the ninth day, Ink had grown worse, but still he kept pushing his body, dragging Error through to another AU. Error was dragged to EpicTale where he met an annoying Sans that kept saying ‘bruh’ in every goddamn sentence. Ink didn’t seem to mind though, leaning against Error for support and watched the action packed AU play out in front of him with amazement. Error froze up, but let it slide when he saw how the tattoo was traveling slowly up his skull.

On the tenth day, Ink seemed to be reaching a limit, but still continued on. They visited ChronoTale, similar to the original but had an incredible plot, in Ink’s opinion at least. If Error were paying attention to anything other than Ink, than he would have been interested, Ink was sure. After all, Chara controlling Frisk like this? It was different and kind of amazing. Going along with this ‘different Chara’s’ theme, Ink also led them to the CareTaker AU which was interesting in and of itself, what with the different characters and how much this AU differed from the original.

On the eleventh day Ink was getting desperate. Or maybe he was delusional. He kept dragging Error to all different AU’s, Tribetale which had caught Ink’s attention a while back from it’s amazing detail and the way Frisk and Sans were displayed in the AU intrigued him. Then after observing the AU for a bit, before Error had a chance to stop the other, he found himself in UnderDecay, one with an interesting plot in which resets were causing havoc and destruction, no matter if it was a good run or bad run. Something Error would have definitely been interested in. But when Ink collapsed, Error had brought them straight back to Ink’s ‘room’ in an attempt to at least keep the other comfortable.

On the twelfth day, it was becoming clear Ink was barely hanging on. He couldn’t even manage to crawl out of his bed. He was delusional all day, uttering AU names under his breath that he still wanted to visit with Error.

But the pace at which they were going slowed down finally, giving Error a chance to breath and relax finally. He kept Ink company all day, sitting on the bed side next to Ink, before being pulled into the mess of blankets and pillows by him.

“OtherTale...FreshTale……..Ender...tale…….Night...mare…….Tale…….”

Error rolled his pinpricks sarcastically, though no one was watching him. He let Ink grip into him, even though he was kind of still freaking out from the excessive amount of touching he was being put through. He closed his eyes, not completely sleeping and threw a bony hand on his skull.

Three days was all he had left, Error realized with some shock. Just three more days to hang out with this squidy, inky jerk. Error almost shot up out of the bed when the sudden wave of realization flooded him, stopping when he remembered Ink was still gripping onto his shirt.

Error hadn’t realized when exactly he had become so attached to the other skeleton, or rather how much Ink had begun to cling to him. It couldn’t possibly be the other way around anyways. He hadn’t felt a good emotion from the day he was created, so why would he now? Just a few more days until he got rid of both the nuisance and the filthy, glitchy, anomalies.

Just thinking that, however, felt foreign to Error. He realized that he hadn’t insulted any of the AU’s since the ten days had started. He’d even held his tongue lashing back whenever Ink was around too. To only now realize how he was acting around Ink, was straight out embarrassing and a dawning realisation hit him a second time that day. But this hit harder than anything.

“I actually like a filthy glitch……...I actually like Ink.”

Saying it out loud made it seem the slightest bit more real. But not real enough. Nothing would be real enough to convince himself that he like the squid bastard. That day, Error thought silently to himself all day, trying to sort his mind from the cluster-fuck it had become with just the small addition of realization.

On the thirteenth day, Ink had become just the slightest bit better, but he was far from healthy. He couldn’t sit up straight without the help of Error. Ink could feel Death glooming behind him, waiting for the perfect moment to steal him away from the living. This time, instead of Error being dragged along by the others hands, Error brought Ink where he wanted to go, all the while an almost fond look replacing his usual angry one. They visited an empty AU that seemed to be endless and contained thousands upon thousands of different ship children and their stories.

Of course Error didn’t exactly realize what was meant by “ship” until he saw the characters in question and was half disgusted half amazed at these kids.

And of course as soon as Ink saw the little fluff balls, he demanded to go see them with a huff pointing this way and that, seemingly enjoying himself.

“So how long are we gonna run around chasing a bunch of kids squid?,” Error asked after a bit, looking up at where Ink was now dangling from strings. Error had grown tired relatively quickly because of the added weight and had resorted to using his strings.

“We haven’t even gone to our section yet,” Ink laughed and Error’s face scrunched up in confusion. Our?

Ink pointed towards another direction and Error walked towards it with some caution, because even though Error could hazard a guess at what Ink meant -creators were fucking insane and Error knew it. Look at UnderTail, seriously- he didn’t know what exactly to expect.

At least until he actually bumped into one of them.

Error screeched, jumping back from the sudden contact, eyes glued on the kid.

“Error, meet PaperJam!,” Ink said cheerfully, getting off the bundle of strings slowly before gripping onto Error’s shoulder for balance. “He’s one of _our_ kids!” Error’s eyes grew coomically wide at Ink’s words, resulting in soft laughter from Ink and a sarcastic roll of eyes from the PaperJam kid.

“You guys didn’t do the do to make me in my story,” PaperJam started as a way of greeting. “Can’t say the same for the rest. But I was created from a battle between you and Ink from my world.” Error finally unfroze long enough to get a good look at the PaperJam kid.

“It doesn’t really make much of a difference if me and squid shit still made you,” Error said in reply.

“What Error means to say is that it’s nice to meet you, in his own Error-y way,” Ink quickly covered, but groaned painfully at the sudden movement that he caused from talking so rapidly.

“Shit, Ink. Maybe we should go back or something.” Error made a quick glitchy portal to Ink’s room, glancing up once at PaperJam and gave him a strange look that made him look constipated, or at least those were the words PaperJam would use.

“It was fucking weird seeing something that looks like both me and the glitch combined……” Error glanced around before turning back to PaperJam who raised a single bone brow -because fuck anatomy- “It was interesting.”

He dove through the portal, Ink in his arms before the other had a chance to answer.

“Weird fucking versions of Ink and Error,” PaperJam grumbled before walking back to his own section of the endless AU.

  
The fourteenth day was quiet for Ink and Error. Instead of traveling to the AU’s, Ink used some of his magic to create an enormous TV that allowed them to watch any AU from it. They looked at MonoFell, HandPlates AU, Christmas Party AU, Drunk!Chara AU and watched more UnderNovela afterwards. And that was the limit for Ink. The TV returned to mere paint after Ink collapsed part way through Undernovela. And Error cursed at himself because there was obviously no way that something like this could exist without the constant feeding of magic. Obviously.

After he threw a few blankets over the weakening skeleton, Error threw himself onto the couch. He couldn’t seem to bring himself to leave the other’s side, even though he was utterly bored. Maybe it was because his not so completely heartless soul was reacting to the fact that it was only one more day until he had to decide whether or not to kill Ink.

Right….one more day. That was all the had left before Error had to make a final decision.

“Fuck. Fucking squid got himself too attached,” Error growled, but knew he was lying to himself. Because he could feel himself second guessing his original choice, to just kill Ink off as soon as he had the chance without feeling anything other than joyful glee. Error hung his head off the edge of the couch, gaze strolling towards Ink.

He, the destroyer had fallen in love with his mortal enemy.

He didn’t know when it had happened, why it happened. All Error could remember was just feeling it one day.

And Error had no idea what to do with these emotions that were now building up inside of him except to keep them bottled up and let them make a pit in his stomach.

  
The fifteenth day, Ink could barely talk. The tattoo that Error had tried to ignore was now visible and was covering the right side of Ink’s face, the bone still chipping into dust every few minutes. And all Error could do then was hold onto Ink’s bony tattoo covered hands in an attempt to keep Ink stuck to their reality they had made.

“Hey ...Error?,” Ink croaked out softly, Error listening attentively. “May’ve...lied. Might not….make..till tomorrow.” Error’s eyes widened, then glared.

“Don’t fucking say that squid. If you die today then I won’t be able to properly kill you tomorrow,” Error growled, through softer than usual. Ink laughed, or did the equivalent of it with the addition of extreme, unimaginable pain.

“Y’know…..I fell...for you,” Ink whispered. “Four days...after emotion….came…...Was all it took.” Error didn’t move, showing no indication that he heard Ink, but Ink continued in a strained voice. “Just….four.”

Error gripped Ink’s hand suddenly, and if Ink had any feeling in his body, he would have jumped. But instead, all he could do was grin, even as tears started pouring from his eyes. Even as he realized that he could now completely feel his emotions and that his soul was pounding against his rib cage.

Even as he felt a part of his body start dusting.

“Fucking squid………….. FUCKING STUPID FILTHY SQUID!” Error stood up quickly, picking Ink up, not caring that his jacket was becoming dusty. He couldn’t care less.

“JUST SURVIVE ONE MORE FUCKING DAY! THAT WAS THE PROMISE YOU MADE YOURSELF!”

Error looked down at the shaking skeleton in his arms through grit teeth.

“Tell me where you want to go. Fucking tell me!!!”

And like that they traveled high and low to every AU that was in reach, to every god damn place they could travel to, watching as everything passed in a shaky blur. Watched as they traveled from the Underground to the surface in a blink of an eye.

“Error-”

“Shut up squid! SHUT UP!! WE’RE NOT DONE YET!! We’re not……”

Error looked down at what he now held in his arms. Ink was smiling up at him, acceptance already in his eyes, even as they welled with tears. Error gripped onto Ink as they traveled one last time.

 

OuterTale.

 

Error felt his own sockets sting with the unfamiliar feeling of tears as he entered their last stop. Gently, he lay Ink down with a shaking grip. Ink stared up at him, then glanced towards the stars with the most real smile that Error had ever seen.

“....You goddamn glitch. You got too fucking attached to me and look at where that fucking got you. Stupid, filthy bastard.” But even as Error said those words, he couldn’t stop the sudden flow of tears that was streaming down his face. He crouched down towards Ink, face hovering a foot away. He placed a hand on where Ink’s arm had been, feeling nothing but dust in its place, but Error didn’t look away.

“......God dammit, I fell in love with you too….Ink.” Error leaned down, his teeth barely brushing against Ink’s before all there was left was air and dust.

 

**__________________**

 

 

“Woah,” Ink said with a grin. “I acted so strangely in this one! You think if I actually did gain feelings this way, I would act like this?” Ink looked up at Error who was looking down at him with disgust clear in his eyes. Well, disgust and anger.

“Stop fucking looking at those anomalies while battling you fucking glitch,” Error growled, the glitching on his body growing.

Ink just shrugged as he dodged another barrage of strings that were aimed towards Ink’s skull.

“Oh shoot! I forgot I have to meet Blue and Dream today!,” Ink said, looking down at his scarf where he had scribbled a bunch of things down. “Sorry Error, I’ll have to see you later~!!”

With that, the skeleton jumped into his Ink puddle with a cheerful lopsided grin, leaving Error a glitching mess in the Doodle Sphere.

“InNKKKKKKKKK!!!!!”

Ink looked at the fan-fiction thing in his hands, almost forgetting that he was holding it.

“I’ll have to keep this for later!” He threw the thing into an almost abandoned AU, writing the name of the AU on his scarf before trotting off to find Blue and Dream with an almost cheerful grin.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you liked this story~!! :D  
> Leave me some feedback and suggestions because I absolutely love to feast on them.
> 
> You can find me on Tumblr, though I'm rarely on, at 
> 
> https://www.tumblr.com/blog/rumortale
> 
> Hope to see you soon~~ <3


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